Man shot, killed Idaho firefighters after they asked him to move his vehicle, sheriff says
COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — A man who set a wildfire and then fatally shot two firefighters and wounded another in northern Idaho was a 20-year-old transient who attacked the first responders after they asked him to move his vehicle, a sheriff said Monday.
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Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris offered new details about the Sunday ambush at Canfield Mountain just north of Coeur d'Alene, a popular recreation area. He said Wess Roley was living out of his vehicle, had once aspired to be a firefighter and had only a handful of minor contacts with area police.
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'We have not been able to find a manifesto,' the sheriff said, adding a motive was still unknown.
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Norris said families of the victims are 'in shock — absolutely. They're in shock and they're still processing it.'
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Roley had set a fire using flint, and the firefighters who rushed to the scene instead found themselves in an unexpected shootout. They took cover behind fire trucks, but two died and a third was wounded during a barrage of gunfire over several hours.
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'We know that he was a transient here,' the sheriff said. 'We know he lived here for the better part of 2024. But as far as when he got here, why he was here, why he chose this place — I don't know.'
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Two helicopters converged on the area Sunday, armed with snipers ready to take out the suspect if needed, while the FBI used his cellphone data to track him and the sheriff ordered residents to shelter in place. They eventually found Roley dead in the mountains, his firearm beside him.
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Roley's grandfather, Dale Roley, told KXLY-TV that his grandson was an avid hiker who worked for a tree company and was interested in forestry.
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Outpouring of support for the victims was swift in Coeur d'Alene, a city of 55,000 residents near the border with Washington.
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Hours after the ambush, people gathered along Interstate 90 holding American flags to pay their respects as the two fallen firefighters' bodies were taken to the medical examiner's office in Spokane, Washington, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) from Coeur d'Alene.
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Gov. Brad Little on Monday ordered U.S. and Idaho state flags to be lowered to half-staff to honor the firefighters until the day after their memorial service.
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